Will US Ban TikTok?
The biggest news of social media this week is the US government considering banning TikTok. TikTok is owned by a Chinese company, ByteDance, and US government is worried that TikTok may misuse users’ data and passes it on to the Chinese government.
Because of the national security concerns, the US Army and Navy have prohibited service members from downloading TikTok to government-issued phones. India banned TikTok earlier this month followed the clashes at the India-China border in the Himalayas.
The private sectors have also become suspicious of the app. Wells Fargo banned the app from corporate-owned devices, while Amazon asked its employees to delete TikTok from any phone that can access company email last week, and hours later, it said the email had been sent in error.
TikTok Response
TikTok said in a blog post that all US user data is stored in the US with a backup in Singapore, and its data centers are outside China and none of its data is subject to Chinese law.
TikTok also said that it is led by an American CEO, with hundreds of employees and key leaders across safety, security, product, and public policy here in the US, and they have never provided user data to the Chinese government.
As part of a strategy to distance itself from its Chinese ownership, TikTok is considering locate its headquarters in London.
User Reaction
TikTok’s main users, Gen Z and millennials have showed frustration and anxiety to the ban. To them, TikTok is a perfect place for creative expression and connection, and especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, it has played a big part in people’s quarantine life.
Many TikTok influencers have encouraged their fans to follow them in other platforms due to the fear of ban. Lots of them have migrated to YouTube and Instagram.
Competition
Some of the platforms are working on mirroring TikTok’s features. For example, Instagram announced this week it would bring an app called Reels, and YouTube is working on a similar app called Shorts. Byte and Doordash offer similar short-form video format have also seen user growth recently. Many TikTok users choose to stay in YouTube as it’s a more stable platform.
Opinion
I wasn’t very surprised when I heard the news as US government has planned this move a long time ago. I see the majority of the ban is due to the political reasons as the election is approaching, and Trump administration will need to act tough on the US-China relations to gain more votes. They have done the similar thing to Huawei before.
TikTok is growing so fast overseas, and quickly becoming the targets among major tech companies and political parties. It has tried really hard to distance itself from its Chinese ownership by moving headquarters overseas, but as long as it is owned by Chinese company, it will still be a target in politics.
I think there is a high chance that the ban of TikTok will take effect followed by the ban of Huawei. There is other source said that Wechat will be also banned in the US, and many Wechat users have switched to Line to keep their contacts. I enjoy using TikTok and Wechat a lot, and they have become part of my life. It’s really sad to see social media, technology and entertainment has become the target in politics, and it should never be!
